OLIBAMOYO OLUSHOLA

Meet OLIBAMOYO OLUSHOLA, an Academic Staff of Lagos State University.

Designation: Senior Lecturer

Specialization

Public Mental Health/ Consultation Liaison

Designation

Senior Lecturer

Department

Behavioural Medicine

Office

At the Behavioural Medicine department office

Visiting Hour

Appointment on Visitation important

Research Interest

Topic: Suicidology, Implementation Research, Translational Research

Description:

My research focuses on understanding and improving mental health across the life course in Nigeria, with a particular emphasis on suicidal behaviour as a critical public health concern. I examine how depression, psychiatric comorbidity, and a range of psychosocial factors, including childhood trauma, emotional regulation, self-esteem, substance use, gambling, and broader social determinants, interact to shape vulnerability to suicidal behaviour and common mental disorders. This work aims to inform effective strategies for prevention, early identification, and intervention across schools, healthcare settings, and communities.

A central strand of my research investigates suicidal behaviour across diverse populations, including secondary school students, psychiatric outpatients, post-stroke patients, healthcare workers, and sexual and gender minority youth. I also explore how suicide is perceived and managed by frontline professionals, such as police officers and health workers, and how it is portrayed in the media. Complementing this, I have contributed to research on the epidemiology and treatment of depression and anxiety, including feasibility and pilot trials of collaborative stepped-care models, mobile health adherence interventions, and large-scale studies of co-occurring mental health conditions among adolescents.

Another key area of my work focuses on addiction and behavioural risks, particularly substance use and problem gambling. I apply person-centred analytical approaches, such as latent class analysis, to better understand psychiatric comorbidity among affected populations and develop training programmes for non-specialist providers.

More recently, my research has expanded to address mental health systems, stigma, and implementation science. This includes work on mhGAP scale-up, co-designed system strengthening in Lagos, and digital interventions for distressed healthcare workers. Ultimately, I aim to integrate these strands through scalable, contextually relevant interventions that reduce suicidal behaviour and mental health inequalities in low-resource urban settings.

Qualifications

# Certificate SchoolYear
1. Fellow West African College of Physicians FWACP (Psychiatry) West African College of Physicians 2017

Current Research

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Social Distance Toward Mental Illness Among Secondary School Adolescents: Baseline Assessment from a School-Based Primary Suicide Prevention Intervention (SPREAD) study in Lagos, Nigeria.

Research Details

Background: Adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria, face a high burden of mental health problems, compounded by limited mental health literacy and persistent stigma. Understanding adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and social distance toward mental illness is critical for informing effective school-based interventions. This study presents baseline findings from the SPREAD (School-based Primary Prevention of Suicide) study in Lagos, Nigeria.


Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 600 secondary school students aged 13–17 years selected through multistage sampling from 10 public schools in Lagos State. Data were collected using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires assessing socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitudes toward mental illness, and social distance. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data.


Results: The mean age of participants was 15.33 ± 1.16 years, with a slight female majority (51.3%). While 85.5% believed that anyone could develop mental illness and 97.2% acknowledged identifiable causes, misconceptions persisted, including beliefs linking mental illness to aggression (75.8%) and violence (77.5%). Although 91.2% believed recovery is possible, stigmatizing attitudes were evident, with 64.3% perceiving individuals with mental illness as difficult to talk to. Social distance remained notable, as many respondents reported fear or discomfort interacting with affected individuals. Encouragingly, 94.2% expressed interest in receiving mental health and suicide prevention training.


Conclusion: Despite moderate awareness, significant stigma and misconceptions about mental illness persist among adolescents in Lagos. These findings underscore the need for culturally appropriate, school-based mental health literacy and anti-stigma interventions such as YAM to improve knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviors.

Biography

OLIBAMOYO OLUSHOLA is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Behavioural Medicine

OLIBAMOYO has a Fellow West African College of Physicians FWACP in Psychiatry from West African College of Physicians

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